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Importance of phase fluctuations in superconductors with small superfluid density

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Abstract

THE superconducting state of a metal is characterized by a complex order parameter with an amplitude and a phase. In the BCS-Eliashberg mean-field theory1, which is a very good approximation for conventional metals, the phase of the order parameter is un-important for determining the value of the transition temperature Tc and the change of many physical properties brought about by the transition. Here we argue that superconductors with low super-conducting carrier density (such as the organic and high-Tc oxide superconductors) are characterized by a relatively small phase 'stiffness9 and poor screening, both of which imply a significantly larger role for phase fluctuations. As a consequence, in these mat-erials the transition to the superconducting state may not display typical mean-field behaviour, and phase fluctuations, both classical and quantum, may have a significant influence on low-temperature properties. For some quasi-two-dimensional materials, notably underdoped high-temperature superconductors, the onset of long-range phase order controls the gross value of Tc as well as its systematic variation from one material to another.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 11973, USA

    V. J. Emery

  2. Department of Physics, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 90095, USA

    S. A. Kivelson

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  1. V. J. Emery
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  2. S. A. Kivelson
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Emery, V., Kivelson, S. Importance of phase fluctuations in superconductors with small superfluid density. Nature 374, 434–437 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/374434a0

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